Dam

DAM

('em, ordinary Hebrew word for "mother"):

Hebrew law prohibited the destruction of the "dam" and the young of birds at the same time, commanding that if the young be taken from a nest the dam be allowed to escape (Deuteronomy 22:6,7). In the same spirit it enjoined the taking of an animal for slaughter before it had been seven days with its "dam" (Exodus 22:30; Leviticus 22:27; compare Exodus 23:19).